Amex Trendex Summer Spotlight Reveals What Millennials and Gen-Z are Spending Big on This Season

American Express released its Amex Trendex Millennial and Gen-Z Summer Spotlight Report* today. The report, which is based on a survey of U.S. consumers, found that Millennial and Gen-Z respondents want to dine out, travel, and pursue memorable experiences this summer and are prioritizing spending habits that make room for what they love most.

• Girls Just Want to Have (Summer) Fun: Last year women were a driving force behind economic growth thanks in part to the popularity of national stadium tours from major pop artists. They are once again fueling demand for concerts and music festivals this summer.
• Travel Reigns Supreme: Millennials and Gen-Z are prioritizing travel this summer and planning trips around specific activities like wellness or entertainment.
• Taste of Summer: Millennials and Gen-Z are prioritizing hard-to-get reservations and food festivals. 

Girls Just Want to Have (Summer) Fun

• 51% of Millennial and Gen-Z women respondents have plans to attend music festivals and concerts this summer
• 43% of Millennial and Gen-Z women respondents say they plan to attend entertainment experiences this summer because they want to cross it off their bucket list
• 38% of Millennial and Gen-Z women respondents planning to travel abroad for a concert or sporting event this summer plan to travel to Europe 

Travel Reigns Supreme

• The majority (81%) of Millennial and Gen-Z respondents have summer travel plans
• 62% of Millennial and Gen-Z respondents are planning a trip to a destination this summer around one specific activity, like wellness or entertainment
• 70% of Millennial and Gen-Z respondents say they typically purchase clothes or shoes to prepare for a trip

Taste of Summer

• Nearly half (47%) of Millennial and Gen-Z respondents have plans to attend food festivals this summer
• Two-thirds (66%) of Millennial and Gen-Z respondents report spending at least $40 per week on takeout
• 41% of Millennial and Gen-Z respondents say they like to secure hard-to-get reservations just to say they’ve been there, compared to just 13% of Baby Boomers and 24% of Gen X respondents
• 20% of Millennial and Gen-Z respondents are tipping more than last year

WHAT IS THE AMEX TRENDEX?

The Amex Trendex is a trend index that tracks how consumers are feeling about spending, saving, traveling and more. The survey does not represent Amex customer spending data or trends.

AMEX TRENDEX METHODOLOGY

* This poll was conducted by Morning Consult between May 2nd – May 5th, 2024, among a sample of 2,026 US Adults with a household income of $50k+. This audience is made up of a generational breakdown of 946 Millennials & GenZers, 535 GenXers, and 508 Boomers, and a gender breakdown of 1,010 women and 1,014 men. The interviews were conducted online. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Source – American Express